Halifax school board cuts back courtesy bus rides

Halifax-area students who rely on so-called courtesy rides on school buses may be forced to find a new way to class, a prospect that has some parentsworried about their kids' safety.

Halifax Regional School Board saidit's cutting down on the number of seats available for studentswho live within walking distance of their school but are allowedto hop on buses passing by with empty seats.

Hannah Munday said without courtesy busing her two youngestsons, aged five and nine,willhave to walk a "dangerous journey" along Highway 333 to Prospect Road Elementary School in Hatchet Lake.

"It's an accident waiting to happenand that's what has me really scared," she said.

She said there are no sidewalks on the stretch, the speed limit is 70 km/h and there are often cars driving much faster. She said there's also a "massive" road construction project in front of the school.

"It's just simply not safe for us to walk," she said.

Doug Hadley, a spokesperson for the school board,said heexpects anywhere from several dozen to 100students could be affected by the courtesybusing curtailment.

The change, he said, is due to the fact younger elementary students will no longer be dismissed 30 minutes earlier.

Last year, bus drivers would pick up younger students and do a route, then return for the Grade 3 to Grade 6 students half an hour later.

With one dismissal time this school year, there are fewer trips andfewer empty seats. Some bus routes have also been changed.

Mundaylives 1.7 kilometres from Prospect Road Elementary School, but the cutoff for elementary students eligible for bus transportation is 2.4 kilometres from their school.

Sheknew her sons relied on courtesy busing and could be bumped, but said she was surprised to receive an email from Halifax Regional School Board less than 24 hours before the first day of school.

Under the province's Education Act, school boards across Nova Scotiareceive funding to provide transport for students living 3.6 kilometres or further.

The Halifax board pays out of its own budget to bus students inGrade primary to Grade 6 who live between 3.6 and 2.4 kilometres from school.

"We know that's still quite a distance for our youngest students," said Hadley."But we don't receive transportation funding below 3.6 kilometres.

"Dollars that we're spending on transportation would be dollars that we're not spending elsewhere, that would also support student learning."

He said the few seats available for courtesy riders will go to students who live furthest away from their school.